Horses trained by Steve Margolis settle in at Barn 23, the barn most severely damaged by the June 22 tornado at Churchill Downs.Photo:
Reed Palmer Photography, Churchill Downs

Less than three months after a tornado roared through the stable area at Churchill Downs, restoration and repair work on barns damaged by the storm’s winds is complete and horses are moving into those structures to prepare for competition during the track’s Oct. 30-Nov. 27 fall meet, according to a track release.

Churchill Downs had established a target date of Sept. 15 for the completion of the barn repairs, and crews from Louisville-based Hall Contracting accomplished that task. The project included major repairs on barns that were deemed uninhabitable by city safety officials following the storm that hit the track on the evening of June 22. Despite the major damage inflicted by the storm, no injuries to horses or humans were attributed to the tornado and the track missed only one day of racing in its aftermath.

National Weather Service officials in Louisville said the Churchill Downs tornado packed top winds of 105 mph as it tore through the stables and significantly damaged a group of barns constructed in the 1940s. The tornado was rated as an FI storm on the Fujita Scale, the official classification system for tornado damage.

The storm caused approximately $1-$1.5 million in damage. The structures impacted the most were Barns 21, 23, 24, 26, 28, 40 and 5, as well as the stable area’s chapel.

“This is a very special day for Churchill Downs, our horsemen and all who felt the impact of the tornado that hit our track on an evening that five of those storms took Kentucky and Southern Indiana by surprise,” said Churchill Downs Racetrack president Kevin Flanery. “We continue to consider the fact that no horses or humans were injured in the tornado to be miraculous, but the completion of repair work on our damaged barns during a very narrow window of time is also remarkable.”

The completion of the restoration and repairs of the tornado-damaged barns allows stables and horses to return to the track and resume normal training in preparation for Churchill Downs’ 21-day fall meet.